Sorry, Rubens – x-rays say Van Dyck

Art experts left red-faced as tests reveal Rubens’ masterpiece is by his student

FOR centuries it was thought to be a masterpiece by Rubens but now The Young Anthony, an oil painting dating back nearly 400 years, has been shown to be by another artist altogether.

A scientific study, in which powerful X-rays were fired at the canvas to see what lay beneath, suggests that the painting, valued at more than €1m, is a self-portrait by Sir Anthony Van Dyck, a student of Rubens who became a court painter in England to Charles 1.

For the art world, and for the Rubens House museum in Antwerp where the painting hangs, the discovery is potentially embarrassing — calling their expertise into doubt. A study detailing the find will be published shortly.

It is just the latest in a series of cases where “synchrotron radiation”, as these X-rays are known, has been used to reveal the secrets of world-renowned artists.